Matte seems to be the ongoing trend for this fall seasons. So in par with that, I’ll be reviewing a newly released product from Rimmel London called the Stay Matte Liquid Mouse Foundation.

The Product:

Here’s how the product looks like. One squish will give you a fluffy amount of product that definitely looks thicker than it feels. The first one shows the skin of my hand without the swipe of the foundation. The latter has coverage that looks like a bit darker than my skin.

The Product Claim:

A feather-light, oil free formula with an airy mousse texture that won’t feel heavy or greasy. Delivers all day shine control and blends flawlessly for a natural looking matte finish. Minimizes the appearance of pores. The weight is over – finally, the shine has met its matte.

The Road Test (literally ):

November 1, 2013, 2:30pm. This was taken at San Francisco, California starting the 45-mile drive. Weather there was a bit chilly and windy, thus the dry parts of my skin was a little bit enhanced. The coverage is still perfect for me, though. I have combination skin so I noticed that some parts of my skin was a little flaky and some parts looked totally perfect.

At 4:29pm, these photos was taken at the Bixby Bridge. Weather condition at that time was a bit chilly but not that windy at all. The product remain intact on my skin and no oily-ness visible yet.

This was taken at around 5:30pm on the same date. Obviously some of the product have faded off my skin, but still has enough coverage to hide my dark spots and acne.

On a totally different setting, this was taken November 11, 2013, at around 4:19pm in Lipa City Philippines, where humidity is high and the temperature is a bit high as well. As you can see, I’ve had a bit of acne going on in my chin and some of my dark spots were still visible since I applied a little bit of the foundation on my face, just enough to balance out my skin tone. Looking from afar, it’s still good for me.

The Conclusion:

My overall rating for this product is 5 out of 5. I could say that because I find the product blendable and customizable depending on your taste. You could either apply a thin layer just enough to balance your skin color or apply a thicker layer to cover some dark spots and acne, and fill up your deep pores as well. I was given the shade TRUE BEIGE and I noticed that upon first application it looked a bit darker for my skin, But after a few hours, it blended well with my skin color so that it looked a lot more like the skin on my neck area – which is of course, a totally good thing. The weight of the product on the skin was so light that even after 8 hours on my skin, it still felt like I have little foundation on. I totally recommend this for someone like me, who has combination skin, but most of the time, oily. If you have very dry skin though, I suggest blending this out with a moisturizer for better application, since obviously, its matte, and if you apply it alone, it will only enhance your dry skin,

Overall though, it’s a recommended product from Rimmel London.

Product received complimentarily from Influenster for testing purposes only.

There’s one thing that I like every Sunday. Aside from the spiritual food that I’m getting from the sermons and preachings, there is also a dinner out that we often do every Sunday evening.
We take this time to have a family bonding and try out different food and restaurants as well. Just a typical ‘family day’.
Last Sunday, dated Sept. 29, 2013, we headed out to Army Navy – Lipa Branch
If you don’t know Army Navy yet..well, what part of town are you living in anyway?
Seriously, Army Navy is a must-try diner. It’s Quonset hut inspired building is a an attraction enough both to military and civilian people. It’s food is American-Mexican style. What with the spicy French fries and burgers and burritos served, this is a real yummy deal for people who likes spices. And burritos. And tacos.
Anyway, let’s proceed to the snapshots I’ve got. And of course, I recommend that you try this selections as well.
Guys, I am NOT kidding! You must try try this!! The best fried chicken I’ve tried so far! They marinated it into something magical and it just tastes marvelous! Seriously, I think that is even an understatement. No wonder its called the FEARLESS FRIED CHICKEN.
Now this one here, is NOT called French Fries. It’s actually called the FREEDOM FRIES. I don’t have any idea why they named it like that but I guess it was because of the taste of it. My friend recommended it to me but during my first bite, I know I’m not gonna be best friends with it. It’s so spicy to be honest – at least for my own taste buds. But if my little nephew could take it, why can’t you? Especially those who are obsessed with hot and spicy stuff.
This was the one that I got for my dinner that time. It’s called the CRUNCHY TACOS. I got the double edition. It’s really good, and I can’t say anything bad about it, since I ate it all – minus a little bit of its onion content.
This looks delicious right?! Well, you won’t get wrong with it. It’s called the STARVING SAILOR. I guess they never got that one wrong. It’s kinda big in real life for a small lady with a small stomach like me. But I guess that only happens when you already ate a couple of FEARLESS FRIED CHICKEN with rice. And oh, that wasn’t me ok? Just to be clear - that was my sister’s order.
And of course, you shall never leave your seat without a glass of something to drink, right? In this case, it was a paper cup, since using plastic has been banned in this area already. This one is called LIBERTEA. It’s a brewed tea mixture that taste..really..like iced tea. Nothing really special for me since I’ve tasted some that are better. But yeah, that was what I got for my beverage.
Overall, it’s a really good diner for me. With their very simple motto, Come in Hungry, Walk out Happy, I think one could easily say that its really a Mission Accomplished.
That ends my snapshots for now. But of course, they have a lot more in their menu. If you want to know more about it this place, here are the details.ARMY NAVY BURGER AND BURRITO LIPA BRANCHAyala Highway, Lipa City www.armynavyburgerburrito.com

I know, right? You’ve never even heard of me before. Well then, that’s why I am here right now. Sharing my voice to the world using this blogosphere.

I am Jena. An IT graduate who decided that she loves writing better than figuring out how to network computers. Or fixing a broken tower CPU. Or finding a bug in a 20-page PHP code for a website. Or searching for a loophole in an individual program.

Not that I don’t like them. I just don’t like doing ‘em for a living – or for the rest of my life, to say the worst.

I started blogging about my life in the early 2000s when Friendster was still at its peak. Facebook was just starting out. And we had no multi-functioned printer/scanner yet. And with all that ridiculous square diskettes at its peak as well.

Working in front of a CRT monitor, with a Pentium II-powered CPU, I found thrill in the anonymity that the Internet offered. And everything started from there. But of course, as with my other interests, this one had its own plateau.

Somehow, the challenges of college life came in the way, and real life started to weigh more than my online life. Real life made more sense to me, and although I still share a bit more of my real life in that old online journal, my words started to sound more emotional and annoyingly insecure. And sure enough, insecurity began to eat me out that I actually stopped blogging - even when I already bought my own domain.

Fast forward to now. Bloggers already have a place in media. Bloggers are on the rise, and they are now one of the media of advertisement for most companies and entrepreneurs.

When I realized that, a flood of “what-ifs” came into my mind. I know now that I have taken for granted this beautiful opportunity. This remarkable life. It’s becoming real to me now, that I have missed a lot of writing/blogging moments from all the words that I’ve never written.

So now, I just want to reconcile with my writer self, get out of my shell, and perhaps I could be that writer again that I’ve always dreamed of being. Even if it's just here.

The name Silent Intentions was formulated primarily for my personal blog but since I realized that all of my interests, how shallow they may seem to be, was sparked by some kind of genuine desire to know and get acquainted with. This is my way being grateful – thankful – for all the things that come and go into my life.

This blog is dedicated to those intentions I’ve expressed in all of my little interests. (if that makes sense at all) May it be in beauty and makeup, fashion and trends, foods and restaurants, places and events, this is now my go-to vent out place.

If you don’t like it, just stay away. But if you’re curious enough, just follow me on this journey of a novice writer and an expert dreamer to reach the unreachable star and yet remain standing on the firmest ground.

*Update: Fast-forward to 2016, I've finally decided to change the name of this blog from Silent Intentions to jenamaen.com. It sounds more professional and not so annoyingly pathetic anymore. Besides, I've lost track of time already, and I feel more ready to jump into the lifestyle blogosphere.

Welcome to my piece of the net!

Today is my mom’s birthday.
And usually during this kind of days we find somewhere special to each and just relax.
But due to a planning that is really non-existent in a busy week, we ended up just going to Uncle Cheffy Lipa.
And here’s the happenings,
Of course, in Uncle Cheffy, one should never miss out their ever famous Panizza.
Here we had a couple of Uncle Cheffy’s Brick-Oven Favourite Panizza. I just love this whole thing. Stuff it with the Arugula leaves, Alfalfa Sprouts, and tomatoes, roll it up, and stuff it in your mouth. I guess without the rice, I could eat this whole family size one. So Not!!
My parents, as health-conscious as they are, would never forget to get a fish variant. Here is a nicely done PLA-PLA.
And since we are also health-conscious, we always opt and try out different tastes of mango shakes. That will never die I guess. It runs in the family.

And, so much for being health-conscious. here is platter full of variety of variants, which have fish and meats selections on it. Well, the photo says it all, should I say more?

The Best Selling Baby Back-Ribs, will never be missed out as well. It’s really yummy.
Being Filipinos, you should never ever forget to get some rice out on the table, or else the sun will never shine again. Seriously, why does it has be rice?!!
And here is complimentary slice of cheese cake from Uncle Cheffy’s, I think one of the reasons why you should celebrate your birthday here. Who wouldn’t want a free slice of cake anyway, right?
But wait that’s not all. After eating all those delicious meals on the restaurant, we decided to get some more desserts in another café.
That would be…
Ever heard of this place, fellow Lipenos? :)
Well now you have, here’s a quick look.
The entrance to the place may seem to be so obscure. Thanks to the many plant and bulrushes all over the area. But following a simple pathway, will lead you to the place.
Yes, you’ll gonna be passing some houses there as well, but that’s not gonna be place.
This is it! Once you see some nice tables and chairs arranged neatly outside, you’ve reached the main café area.
There are some tarpaulins all over there, telling you a bit more about San Jose, Batangas, where this café is located.
Sorry to budge this in but I just got fascinated with how the faucet and sink in this wash area is made. Bamboo faucet? How fancy, right!!
And this is it, our dessert! And oh yeah, I forgot to show you that before we even got this babies in front of us, we went down the creek that is so well-paved for visitors to take a look at. The only draw back is, the stairs were so slippery that time since it has been raining on and off lately.
But speaking of the Halo-halo dessert, best one ever! It was initially suggested by my brother-in-law, you has tried it before. With a price tag of P85 per serving, I must say, its worth it. First thing you would feel about the dessert is that the ice is softly crushed. How else should I describe it? You should taste it yourself, you will never regret it.

Here’s a little view of the quiet and serene creek. at Casa Rap Café, San Jose, Batangas.

As for the place, it’s a great one to just hang out and relax after a week of busy-ness. The relaxing vibe of the environment, what with all the plants scattered everywhere, you can’t just miss how fascinating and awesome it is that with simple things created by God, you can definitely have rest.
And oh yes, that was all we ate at Casa Rap. The Halo – Halo. Americans, Europeans, Asians alike – should try this here. Uncle Cheffy Lipa Pilahan, Sabang, 4217 Lipa City(043) 757-6201 / (0917) 509-0634Casa RapKM90 National Highway, Banay-Banay San Jose, Batangas City, Luzon, Philippines 63 43 726 2873

And in times like this, I get really teary-eyed. Nose running. Head aching. Sneezing annoyingly. And my skin - dry and blotchy.

So with that all that said, foundation everyday – a total no-no! Eye makeup – not preferable! Lip color – barely natural.

That leaves me with no other option but to keep it natural. And since I don’t own a flawless face, my definition of ‘natural’ is the no-makeup look that still has a few products on. So here are the items that I have been using lately that helps me achieve that look that I want.

Let’s start of with the primer.

Lately, I’ve been using this Bare Naturals Skin Perfecting Primer that I got from one of my Glamourbox subscriptions. I’m happy to say, that up to this day, my skin never broke out because of this. Aside from that, it helps hold the make-up together for a longer period of time.

This is the refill version of The Body Shop Moisture White Skin Perfecting foundation with SPF 25 PA++ in shade number 4. That’s for additional coverage as well as for some SPF.

Most of the time when I feel like I have to wear the make up for more that eight hours, I use this before or after the powder foundations.

This is the Krave Cosmeceuticals Oil Eliminator HD. Really perfect for this ever tropical country I live in. The only draw back here is that, when I apply it on, it spreads out a lot of powdery particles which aggravates my allergy. So I tend to limit my use of it to a minimum.

Now for the brows, I am definitely loving this product!

I’ve been using this Drawing Eye Brow pencil from The Face Shop so much lately, since it gives of a very natural looking effect on my brows. Easy breezy tool for everyday use. Highly recommended!

If ever I feel more like glamming up my eyebrows more, I take a minute and swipe off some of this.

It’s the Elf Treat and Tame Duo. It comes in a couple more shades so you could choose which color suits you best. I use the Tame part most of the time. I honestly don’t know what the Treat part is for but I use it sometimes to hold the eyebrow powder or pencil that I’ll be using later on. (Make sure to let it dry a little bit before laying on another product over it.)

For the eyes, I usually go for brown shades during this season, and basically, whenever I’m just being lazy picking up colors for the eyes. I use any browns from other eyeshadow palettes that I have but this one is my go-to product as for the moment.

Its from Avon and it’s the Simply Pretty Eye Shadow Duos in Honey.

And of course, even if I’m not putting on any eye shadow on my lids, I never leave off the eye shadow primer.

My lids get oily most of the time. So putting on some primer really helps control it. Right now, I’ve been using the ELF Eyelid Primer which basically works the same as my Urban Decay one.

If ever I have extra minutes during the day, I take it to apply some black eyeliner over on my upper eyelids.

I use this two products. And here’s my trick: I apply this Maybelline Eyestudio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner using the felt tip of this L.A Girl Fineline Long Lasting Fine-tip Liquid Eyeliner. That’s a secret ok? That’s for my bullet-proof winged-eyeliner effect.

For my blush, my go-to right now is this:

I’ve been trying out this Avon Ideal Luminous Blush in shade E102 Peach, another product that I got from my Glamourbox subscription boxes.

And finally, for my lippies, I am currently obsessed with the shades of pink.

I’ve been using this Nichido High Definition Lipstick in shade Dolly Pink.

And I top it off with this lip gloss that I currently love.

It’s the Human Nature Mineral Lip Gloss in Hibiscus.

There you go! These are my go to make-up items in my everyday makeup kit during this rainy and wet season.

P.S. One thing I forgot to take a shot here is my CoverGirl Concealer that I use to cover up my blemishes and dark spots.

So what about you? What are your go-to make up items right now?

It’s been a saying that you can never realize something important to you until it/he/she is gone. And right now, the effects of losing someone is really on the rise – not on me, but to someone who is related to me by blood.

Losing a mom is something someone could never really understand unless it happens to you personally – at least that’s what it looks like to me.

This company offers high-end makeup products in a cheap set of prices. It is known for scouring the globe to discover the best in beauty products, and bringing premium, niche and indie brands for Filipina beauty enthusiasts. It comes in a box, usually containing eight to ten products, some of it on sample sizes and some on full sizes. For only Php 595, you’ll get everything to try in cheap price.

This month, or let’s say, for the month of July, Glamourbox had this special edition box wherein they offered products from one single company, in this case, the newest products released by AVON. (Because normally then would have different kinds of makeup and skincare product from different kinds brands in it)

Having heard a lot about those products from different Filipino Youtubers and bloggers as well as on some social media sites, I was excited to have a box for myself.

And these was what I got:

And since I’m not the best in photography, here’s a more vivid shot of the products included, and the list as well, taken from the Glamourbox Blog.

There you go! I know this is not a beauty review, but I just thought I would share with you guys what’s up in my new makeup stash. And since I haven’t tried any of this yet (except for the Anew Genics Eye Cream), I’ll try to make a First Impression Review on one of this products sometime soon!

So, stay tuned! And remember, “Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart” – Kahlil Gibran

About me

jenamaen.com is a hub where I share unique travel destinations I have seen, distinctive novels and other books I have read, beauty products, and fashion innuendos I have tested, and quirky handcrafted stuff I have created. It is a lifestyle blog of an intricate mind.